Mortgage Information

Mortgage basics

Amortization. Fixed rate. Variable rate. High-ratio. Principal. If you’re mystified by mortgage-speak, you’re not alone. Here’s a crash course in mortgage basics to help you make smart decisions about one of the biggest investments you’ll ever make.

Choose a term that works for you.

A term is a period of time (from 6 months to 10+ years) during which you pay your mortgage at a specified interest rate. To figure out what term is right for you, decide how comfortable you are with the volatility of the market and how important a stable mortgage payment is to your budget.

Long term:

Right now, interest rates are low. If you’re afraid they’ll go up and you want to lock in at a low rate, or you want to know exactly how much you’ll be paying every month, go for a longer term like 5, 7 or 10 years.